[XAlp]

How about this one?! Came onto my radar ages ago when thinking of changing the F31 for a fast petrol estate. I’ve continued to scan AT from time to time out of interest.

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202202072235267

[danb1979]

Always wanted one; not at that price though...

I toyed with the Subaru Legacy STi's but they're just plastic inside and not the best place to sit IMO

Same with the VW R36

All Jap imports; but they just didn't feel like a BMW etc... Obvious I know

I loved all my Jap import Honda's when I was younger (and a 3 month life of an Evo VI that got written off for me) and then the 2 Jap import BMWs I had more recently

[SkyJawa]

Personally think the rear of that looks dreadful!

[Panchoa]

Looks like a hearse 😆

[Kendo67]

How is the UK spares availability for imported vehicles ?

Chap at work has a modified imported Pulsar GTiR and is getting shot of it as sourcing spares if required is almost impossible , similarly i was looking at a Pajero Evolution and had second thoughts due to the zero availability of new parts.

K

[Allworth]

A car with a sporty accent, aimed to win a noise competition. A bit too sporty for regular motorway driving, too noisy for towns, not powerful enough for a race. Interior design from 90s.
Always puzzled me who and why buys them.

[Blacktemplar]

Originally Posted by Panchoa

Looks like a hearse 😆

Looks like a cut & shut....

[danb1979]

Originally Posted by Kendo67

How is the UK spares availability for imported vehicles ?

Chap at work has a modified imported Pulsar GTiR and is getting shot of it as sourcing spares if required is almost impossible , similarly i was looking at a Pajero Evolution and had second thoughts due to the zero availability of new parts.

K

It's all down to the age of the car

A lot of them parts are interchangeable as they will have been a UK car as well

But some aren't UK based and that's where you can get caught short etc

I would not like to have to do a full suspension overhaul on my first ever Jap import - EF8 CRX

A lot of it's NLA now

[XAlp]

Yeah also not completely sure on the looks, but kinda unique - I’d like to see one out in the wild.

During my brief 😢 recent S2000 ownership had to source a couple of parts from Japan. That seemed OK but I did wonder how long they’d continue to be available

[Pond]

EVOs are great cars to drive. 4G63 is one of the all time great 4 pot turbo engines.

Not sure the estate version does them any favours TBH.

Huge money for a 18 year old EVO.

[Ennoch]

Great cars, handle like an Evo saloon but you can throw the dogs in the back or sleep in it. A mate of mine had one that was running c400bhp and it was outstanding. They're all different though, some have AYC and some are running the plated RS diffs (better, IMO) with only centre diff adjustment rather than all the electronic trickery, some have another hybrid setup. They all rust around the rear arches though like most Japanese cars of the era so pull back the internal boot lining, and look very closely, ideally with an endoscope into the cavities. If they're clear and you buy it then spend a solid weekend coating the underside and cavities with a proper penetrant wax such as BH Dynax UB and S50 to ensure it stays that way. They're brilliant cars and so completely, wonderfully different to the overweight stodge of modernity. Even a 300bhp Evo would knock bells out of anything modern with 400bhp just because of the weight difference. I've never owned an Evo but I've driven plenty, and while the Impreza is the one that got under my skin, the Evo is a brilliant, brilliant car. If you want something to willy wave with down the pub then go and buy a Porsche. If you want something that's comfy and luxurious then by an AMG or M4. If you want to have fun on twisty roads then NOTHING comes close to these (or the Impreza's of the same generation and before) for driving involvement and pleasure. Every time I jump in my Impreza, or indeed anything like this, I'm just reminded of how damn heavy and dead everything modern feels.


My mate got his at about £12k in 2019 but it wasn't a patch on the condition of the one linked, took quite a bit to bring it up to spec with new calipers/discs/wheels etc (and a rally pod for 6x driving lights, but that's from the fun pot, not the maintenance pot), and by the time he sold it a few years later at probably 130k miles it was nudging the £20k mark IIRC. They're sought after cars and while it might take a little while to get that money for that car, people do pay it. Just look at how much bog standard Evos go for these days; this has the added benefit of practicality. I wouldn't spend it, but someone will.

Genuine parts for the Evos are definitely getting shorter but thankfully second hand panels etc are easy enough to come by, and the mechanicals are all common across so many of them that there are plenty of options available for the majority of bits you need to keep them maintained.

[SkyJawa]

Originally Posted by Ennoch

Genuine parts for the Evos are definitely getting shorter but thankfully second hand panels etc are easy enough to come by, and the mechanicals are all common across so many of them that there are plenty of options available for the majority of bits you need to keep them maintained.

This is the wonder of the enthusiasts and in some respects even manufacturers. As these cars are desired and people want to keep them on the road, you find little machine shops making replacement or repair parts for them. Its become like that very much in the Peugeot world. A few years ago it was getting pretty hard to source things, but now lots of places have popped up, machining new parts, making replica fabrics, replacement stickers, adapters so that you can fit modern parts that would theoretically not fit. Even the Peugeot museum in France has fired up refabricating all sorts of replacement as new and OEM parts, its actually easier getting bits you need now than 5-10 years ago

[XAlp]

@Ennoch great post! Got me studying the ad again!
I don’t think I could find a good enough brave pill to swap the XC90 for one - but you never know 😉

[Pond]

I had an EVO 5 back in 2001-2002. It is still the BEST all round car I have ever owned for just the sheer fun of driving it (and they were really cool back then). An FK8 Honda Type R comes very, very close but is FWD so is compromised.
The EVO is the only car I've owned that you can pull out of a layby sideways and look like a talented driver by 'drifting' around roundabouts. I wouldn't do that anymore, cos I'm old and knackered!

[Allworth]

Originally Posted by Pond

I had an EVO 5 back in 2001-2002. It is still the BEST all round car I have ever owned for just the sheer fun of driving it (and they were really cool back then). An FK8 Honda Type R comes very, very close but is FWD so is compromised.
The EVO is the only car I've owned that you can pull out of a layby sideways and look like a talented driver by 'drifting' around roundabouts. I wouldn't do that anymore, cos I'm old and knackered!

Good vibe, but your story feels a bit incomplete with what happened to the car and why you got rid of it.
I was a passenger once in Impreza, totally disliked it. everything rattles, noise insulation was absent, no a/c. You can however easily avoid one on a road because conveniently they ONLY come in a blue color.
Those seeking adrenaline better of on motorbikes so they only endanger themselves, or a safer way - jumping a parachute.
Another story if you take it to a race track.

[Ennoch]

Haha, @Allworth sounding like the resident scrooge/bore there by playing all the stereotypes of noise, blue, rattling, danger seeking, irresponsible, no a/c etc etc comments. Do you have the same attitude to every car that's faster than your 320d? The world would be a boring place if we all liked the same things. Personally I've had three Imprezas and none have been sonic blue, and my mate who's had over twenty of them might have had one in blue in the dim and distant past but most haven't been. Not everyone wanted the rally replica look with gold wheels and stickers.

As to rattles, many, many cars of the era rattled at the lower end of the spectrum, but the thing is that the Impreza wasn't based on an expensive car. That made it pretty damn affordable as a performance car for many. Is affordable a problem that should lead to it being derided? Like most performance cars they went through a period of being owned by wazzocks but then what car doesn't? Look at any AMG-ish/S/RS/M etc that's been bought (sorry, borrowed) recently on tick. Mechanically they're far simpler than BMW's but as far as ownership goes, I know which one has soul and it sure as shit isn't the blue turd I've got from Deutschland. Even my geriatric Honda CRV had more soul than that thing ever will. As per that Lotus thread, I realise that people who actually like driving feel and handling over all the soft touch dashes are in the minority, especially in comparison to the ones who'd rather willy wave power and torque figures (or just sit and moan about speed limits), but as I don't go about caressing the dash as I drive whether it's made of hard plastic or clad in the finest leather made from virgins I don't really care. I must have done well over 100k miles in my Imprezas and they're one of the most comfortable and capable cross country cars ever made (and all but the first classic had working A/C too). If they've been ruined by coilovers (or straight through exhausts, I might have been guilty of that last one on occasion) then that changes things, but stock-ish or sensibly tweaked suspension and they're magic. Would I buy one as a sales rep trundling up and down the M6 for 20k miles a year? Probably not, but then that wasn't the target audience, and wasn't how mine have been used. And in the modern world, very little is that capable on a cross country run as a well set up, narrow and light car with good wheel travel. Runs through the Highlands in all weathers to go climbing and they're just effortless.

[Allworth]

Originally Posted by Ennoch

Haha, @Allworth sounding like the resident scrooge/bore there by playing all the stereotypes of noise, blue, rattling, danger seeking, irresponsible, no a/c etc etc comments. Do you have the same attitude to every car that's faster than your 320d? The world would be a boring place if we all liked the same things. Personally I've had three Imprezas and none have been sonic blue, and my mate who's had over twenty of them might have had one in blue in the dim and distant past but most haven't been. Not everyone wanted the rally replica look with gold wheels and stickers.

As to rattles, many, many cars of the era rattled at the lower end of the spectrum, but the thing is that the Impreza wasn't based on an expensive car. That made it pretty damn affordable as a performance car for many. Is affordable a problem that should lead to it being derided? Like most performance cars they went through a period of being owned by wazzocks but then what car doesn't? Look at any AMG-ish/S/RS/M etc that's been bought (sorry, borrowed) recently on tick. Mechanically they're far simpler than BMW's but as far as ownership goes, I know which one has soul and it sure as shit isn't the blue turd I've got from Deutschland. Even my geriatric Honda CRV had more soul than that thing ever will. As per that Lotus thread, I realise that people who actually like driving feel and handling over all the soft touch dashes are in the minority, especially in comparison to the ones who'd rather willy wave power and torque figures (or just sit and moan about speed limits), but as I don't go about caressing the dash as I drive whether it's made of hard plastic or clad in the finest leather made from virgins I don't really care. I must have done well over 100k miles in my Imprezas and they're one of the most comfortable and capable cross country cars ever made (and all but the first classic had working A/C too). If they've been ruined by coilovers (or straight through exhausts, I might have been guilty of that last one on occasion) then that changes things, but stock-ish or sensibly tweaked suspension and they're magic. Would I buy one as a sales rep trundling up and down the M6 for 20k miles a year? Probably not, but then that wasn't the target audience, and wasn't how mine have been used. And in the modern world, very little is that capable on a cross country run as a well set up, narrow and light car with good wheel travel. Runs through the Highlands in all weathers to go climbing and they're just effortless.

Sounds like a car for a driver rather than a passenger.
ps: ta for a ride